The Chrysler brand will expand from two vehicles today to at least three when it goes all-electric from 2025-2028. The new portfolio will include new nameplates and a new body style with the addition of a crossover based on the Chrysler Airflow concept. One model will stay close to its roots, however: the minivan. When Chrysler goes all-electric, the Pacifica minivan will continue to be front and center in the lineup.

“Since we reinvented and established the minivan category 40 years ago, we will keep it,” Chrysler Brand CEO Christine Feuell tells MotorTrend in an interview. But it will be re-imagined. “Our aspiration is not to just tweak the existing Pacifica and put a battery pack in it. We created the segment. We want to recreate the segment with a new offering that is more modern, certainly electrified, and gives those customers the best combination of interior comfort and versatility as well as the connected technology to make their riding and driving experience best in class.”

Sliding Doors Are a Must

An electric minivan will continue to have sliding doors while adding new features such as a temperature-controlled frunk to put your groceries in.

autos, cars, chrysler, mini, news, when chrysler's minivan goes electric, it'll keep pacifica name, sliding doors

“I don’t see sliding doors going away,” Feuell says. They are so practical and make it easier to get in and out which is a why-buy feature for minivan buyers. SUVs offer conventionally hinged doors for those who prefer them.

Storage and clever packaging are also crucial in a family vehicle and going electric creates new spaces that did not exist before. “We are rethinking frunk ingenuity and what can we do with that space to optimize both storage and functionality,” Feuell says. While some EVs are using the space once occupied by an engine to house electronics or other components, Chrysler will keep it open. “Our intention is to make it useful, functional space people can use.” Feuell sees it as a surprise and delight feature, especially with more aerodynamic, fastback designs on EVs which reduce space in the rear and leave items exposed if there is no cover. “The frunk becomes this secure, lockable storage area where you can put your valuables. We are looking at temperature-control options if people want to store food or groceries while shopping around.”

Design-wise, look for a lot of the design language and technologies in the Airflow concept to carry through to the new family of EVs. The Airflow has been shown as a sleek luxury crossover with 22-inch wheels, a panoramic roof, and spacious interior with lines that span the cockpit and continue down the body sides. The Airflow has two electric motors and a lot of tech including the STLA SmartCockpit to make it a well-connected vehicle. “You’re definitely see more harmony and family lineage in the design language and technology integration from vehicle to vehicle of the Chrysler brand,” the CEO says.

A Pacifica By Any Other Name

Expect the Pacifica name to stay, as well. “The Pacifica name carries a lot of value,” Feuell says. “At this point I don’t see a need to change that name with the evolution of a redefined minivan.”

When the Pacifica came out, Chrysler downplayed the plug-in hybrid version, afraid the tech talk would scare off buyers. Not today. “We are putting PHEV front and center in our marketing message now,” Feuell says, hyping the fact the Pacifica plug-in hybrid minivan has more than 30 miles of electric range, more than 50 miles of average range, and exceeds 500 miles of total range.

Minivan segment sales have stabilized and Chrysler saw a 5 percent increase in U.S. sales in 2021 as more families recognized its strengths to carry people and cargo on road trips during the pandemic. With gas prices surging, searches about the Pacifica plug-in hybrid have doubled and it is drawing a new buyer that is younger, more tech-savvy and diverse, with a higher income and education, Feuell says. “It leads us into the brand transformation into electrification in a good way,” she says.

Minivan Manufacturing Plans

The Pacifica is currently made in Windsor, Ontario, and until the recent emergence of Jeep 4xe plug-in hybrids, was the only electrified vehicle available in North America from the broad Stellantis portfolio.

The expectation is the Windsor plant will also make the battery-electric Pacifica when its time comes. That expectation is reinforced by the Stellantis decision to invest $4.1 billion in a joint venture battery cell plant with LG Energy Solution in Windsor. A second EV is expected to be added to the Windsor plant in 2024 when the battery plant is up and running.

Feuell will not confirm future manufacturing plans for the minivan but states the obvious: many plants will need to be retooled to make EVs as each of the 14 brands under Stellantis migrate to an electric vehicle lineup. And she acknowledges the obvious: battery plants located near plants that make EVs. The future of the Windsor plant has been secured and it is in the running for a number of different vehicle options, the CEO says, without being specific or confirming the Airflow could be built there. Nor can she say if the plans will be enough to restore a third shift at the Windsor plant that will be discontinued in July.

autos, cars, chrysler, mini, news, when chrysler's minivan goes electric, it'll keep pacifica name, sliding doors
autos, cars, chrysler, mini, news, when chrysler's minivan goes electric, it'll keep pacifica name, sliding doors
autos, cars, chrysler, mini, news, when chrysler's minivan goes electric, it'll keep pacifica name, sliding doors
autos, cars, chrysler, mini, news, when chrysler's minivan goes electric, it'll keep pacifica name, sliding doors
autos, cars, chrysler, mini, news, when chrysler's minivan goes electric, it'll keep pacifica name, sliding doors
autos, cars, chrysler, mini, news, when chrysler's minivan goes electric, it'll keep pacifica name, sliding doors
autos, cars, chrysler, mini, news, when chrysler's minivan goes electric, it'll keep pacifica name, sliding doors
autos, cars, chrysler, mini, news, when chrysler's minivan goes electric, it'll keep pacifica name, sliding doors
autos, cars, chrysler, mini, news, when chrysler's minivan goes electric, it'll keep pacifica name, sliding doors
autos, cars, chrysler, mini, news, when chrysler's minivan goes electric, it'll keep pacifica name, sliding doors
autos, cars, chrysler, mini, news, when chrysler's minivan goes electric, it'll keep pacifica name, sliding doors
autos, cars, chrysler, mini, news, when chrysler's minivan goes electric, it'll keep pacifica name, sliding doors
autos, cars, chrysler, mini, news, when chrysler's minivan goes electric, it'll keep pacifica name, sliding doors
autos, cars, chrysler, mini, news, when chrysler's minivan goes electric, it'll keep pacifica name, sliding doors
autos, cars, chrysler, mini, news, when chrysler's minivan goes electric, it'll keep pacifica name, sliding doors
autos, cars, chrysler, mini, news, when chrysler's minivan goes electric, it'll keep pacifica name, sliding doors
autos, cars, chrysler, mini, news, when chrysler's minivan goes electric, it'll keep pacifica name, sliding doors
autos, cars, chrysler, mini, news, when chrysler's minivan goes electric, it'll keep pacifica name, sliding doors
autos, cars, chrysler, mini, news, when chrysler's minivan goes electric, it'll keep pacifica name, sliding doors
autos, cars, chrysler, mini, news, when chrysler's minivan goes electric, it'll keep pacifica name, sliding doors
autos, cars, chrysler, mini, news, when chrysler's minivan goes electric, it'll keep pacifica name, sliding doors
autos, cars, chrysler, mini, news, when chrysler's minivan goes electric, it'll keep pacifica name, sliding doors
autos, cars, chrysler, mini, news, when chrysler's minivan goes electric, it'll keep pacifica name, sliding doors
autos, cars, chrysler, mini, news, when chrysler's minivan goes electric, it'll keep pacifica name, sliding doors
autos, cars, chrysler, mini, news, when chrysler's minivan goes electric, it'll keep pacifica name, sliding doors
autos, cars, chrysler, mini, news, when chrysler's minivan goes electric, it'll keep pacifica name, sliding doors
autos, cars, chrysler, mini, news, when chrysler's minivan goes electric, it'll keep pacifica name, sliding doors

Keyword: When Chrysler's Minivan Goes Electric, It'll Keep Pacifica Name, Sliding Doors

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